


Peripeteia

by ShyWhovian



Series: Their Better Angels [1]
Category: His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman, Kuroshitsuji | Black Butler
Genre: Alternate Universe - Daemons, Daemons, Demons, Gen, Mild Blood, Minor Character Death, Sigrid is such a damn softie and I love her
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-11
Updated: 2019-12-04
Packaged: 2021-01-27 18:21:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 11,344
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21396601
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ShyWhovian/pseuds/ShyWhovian
Summary: Peripeteia (n): A sudden or unexpected changing of circumstances, the point of no returnSettling is quite possibly the most important event in a young person's life; the moment they pass from child in the eyes of society to an adult. It's a daunting prospect and not one that everyone experiences in the same way.
Series: Their Better Angels [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1542553
Comments: 5
Kudos: 13





	1. Alexis

The letter in his hands weighed almost as heavily as his sinking heart as the blond let out a sigh, carefully groomed hair falling in front of his eyes for a moment, casting his face in shadow, normally bright eyes dim as he stared down at the missive for a while longer. Sigrid, ever dutiful to the human whose soul she contained, pressed against his side in her usual form of a dog. This time it was a wolf hound, large and reassuringly present and Alexis took comfort in it, reaching out with a hand to tangle it in her fur, silently speaking his sorrows. 

The fifteen year old let loose another sigh before shaking his head and plastering a brave sort of smile onto his face; stiff upper lip and all that. He couldn't let it be said that he was letting a letter of rejection get him down so.

“Well,” He began, tossing the letter in the fire. “One does have to accept that sometimes, you can't have everything you want.” She had been quite beautiful, Lady Dane, his parents had been rather pleased with the fact that the two had struck up an acquaintance, naturally, they'd pushed for him to attempt to court her but it seemed it was not to be. At least she'd written to him personally to tell him that she'd found another, rather than allowing him the humiliation of finding out the news through gossip or the society papers. 

“Cheer up old thing,” Sigrid piped up from around his knees, her comforting warmth doing wonders to ameliorate his mood. She was a good sort, his daemon. It was quite egotistical for him to think such things, she was him after all, but it was true nonetheless. Alexis reckoned he'd be far sadder about it all without her steady presence. “I'm certain,” she continued. “Next time will be the one. We'll find a woman even finer than Lady Dane is, and we shall sweep her off of her feet like a knight of old.” 

She was giving him that odd smile, the sort only daemons seemed to be able to produce. It gave him hope. 

“I know my dear... the trouble is I just can't get a handle on these high society ladies. I can't seem to see them as...well real people...you know the ones. The...flitter-flutters.” He gestured vaguely as he stared at the fire, watching the remains of his relationship with Lady Dane go up in flames. It was cold outside, mid autumn and very blustery, otherwise he wouldn't have had the fire on in his room. Alexis wouldn't have been in his room at all actually, had he not wanted to read the letter without his sister hovering over his shoulder. “How am I to tell what a person is like if they insist on maintaining a mask over themselves at all time? How can I possibly know that I love someone?” The Midford heir felt suddenly very old, far older than a lad of fifteen ever ought. As though the weight of the world had placed itself upon his shoulders. He reached out to touch Sigrid's head, seeking reassurance.

“Well...” Sigrid started, a thoughtful expression passing over her face as she mulled the words over in her head. “I suppose you shall simply have to get to know the mask well enough that eventually the woman chooses to remove it for you and allows you to see the person she truly is.” That sort of thing must be a huge display of trust for a human, although privately Sigrid felt it was all a bit silly. Surely one could tell what a person was like simply by their daemons, or more accurately the way their daemons carried themselves. “Or perhaps you should just allow me to quietly judge their daemons, I'm a fairly good judge of character you know.” For example, one could never really trust a person with a cat daemon, they were very scratchy and aggressive and not at all a good match for her Alexis; although, that could be due to the fact that she spent so much time as a dog. But that was only to be expected, all Midfords settled as dogs, they were a good and loyal animals, just right for a family of knights.

Alexis let out a short laugh, reaching down to scratch her ears fondly.  
“Come along then, shall we go for a ride old thing?”

The dog paused at his side, then broke into a small smile. A ride sounded like just the thing to her. The perfect thing to distract her dear boy from his current heartbreak and so she followed him loyally as she continued to ponder the thought. As she did so however, she felt herself shifting, quite unbidden into a creature far larger than a dog. 

The doorway pinched at her sides as she continued in her stride not allowing a simple matter like an impromptu shift stop her from accompanying her human to his ride. Bigger still she became until she let out a startled noise.

“Ah...Alexis dear...I appear to be...er...stuck...”

“Stuck?” The blond boy turned back to look at her quizzically. “Really darling, what on Earth have you gone and done that for?” He asked staring at the rather large almost blond-coated horse wedged half in and half out of the frame. “You know, when I suggested a ride I was thinking of the rather stocked stables we have outside. I do appreciate the thought old girl, but I don't need to ride you!” He laughed, stepping closer. “Why not a hound? Or a falcon instead? They'd be equally thematic, would they not?”

Sigrid looked faintly uncomfortable and shifted, trying to manoeuvre her hind quarters through the much smaller doorway to little avail. “Well, yes...quite...” Having failed in her attempt to move out of the doorway, she then attempted to shift into something far smaller than she was now. A hound did sound awfully tempting to her but, as she'd half suspected, she couldn't produce so much as a bark, let alone a fully grown hound. “I'm afraid however that you're missing the point...It would appear that I cannot, in fact, get myself unstuck. You see I am...for lack of a better word, stuck...” The newly turned horse said with an apologetic sigh.

A startled yet elated look crossed the blond's face. “Wait, are you trying to tell me that you've settled?” 

The horse nodded with a morose sort of smile. And though she looked rather put out by the idea of it, Alexis was delighted. His parents had been worrying for quite some time now as Sigrid had shown no signs of settling. In fact, Alexis himself was the last person in his year to have an unsettled daemon as most tended to settle between the ages of thirteen and fourteen, not fifteen going on sixteen. 

“Oh, that's wonderful!” He beamed brightly at her, reaching up to cradle her head in his hands before the practicalities of it all set in. “Ah....you've settled. As a horse. Halfway through my bedroom door.”

“Yes, it seems you've got it dear boy.” She frowned slightly, pressing her nose against his front in an affectionate sort of way. “I'm rather too big to fit through this door. Or, really any door in the house...which, as you've noticed is quite the dilemma.”

This was painfully true but still, the boy couldn't help but be pleased by it anyway. “Well, my sincerest congratulations anyway old thing.” 

At this point he stepped back, trying to take in the whole scene in front of him and puzzle out how he was going to help his daemon to free herself from her trap. Maybe if she...? No that wouldn't work. She was far too big that even should she get down onto her knees she would not be able to fit through it; well that and her middle was rather too large to fit even should she be lower down. He could see the valiant effort she was putting on. It was almost heartbreaking really. He sincerely hoped she wasn't in any sort of pain. If she was he would take an ax to the door himself and consequent scolding be damned. 

“What breed of horse are you anyway?” He asked instead, failing to see another way of getting her free for the time being. “I've not ever seen a mane such as yours on a horse before now...and you don't look so exotic as something as a Zebra for example.”

“I couldn't say I'm afraid,” Came the almost curt reply as she continued to try to free herself. “The extent of my own knowledge lies in you and if you haven't the foggiest then I cannot know it. You'll have to consult the books again my darling.” After all, they'd been flicking through them quite furiously for a while, trying to find a form that she liked and hoping that she'd settle into it.

“Well, regardless of what breed you are, you're positively magnificent darling.” Could he perhaps duck under her legs? Get into his bedroom again? No...not even crawling on his hands and knees would he fit. Not with Sigrid wedged as she was. “But unfortunately you're also very large... Could you try breaking the doorframe? I'm aware it's not ideal but I'd rather not we spend our lives confined to halfway through the door and the hallway.

Immediately Sigrid looked aghast. Break the doorway? But that would be terribly rude of her, not to mention she'd be inconveniencing so many people. Someone would have to come and repair it and mother would be frightfully upset over it...

“Alexis! I'm a horse not an ox! I'm strong but hardly tearing down walls strong darling...besides, I shouldn't want to get you into trouble.”

“Well, unless you know of a way to shrink yourself down, I''m afraid someone shall have to come out to repair it anyway.” He told her ruefully, rubbing his hand over her shoulders. “Although I do wonder if anyone at all is nearby...mother and father are out...”

“I'm afraid you're out of luck on that account. I'm stuck this size forever. However, I do believe Cordy is around, she may just be able to help us out of this scrape...or at the very least be able to find someone who can.”

Alexis' face lit up again at the mention of his sister. Of course. Cordy was a resourceful thing, she'd know what to do about this, although she'd most likely tease him dreadfully for it. He patted Sigrid's nose briefly before going as far down the corridor as he dared to shout for his sister. 

“Cordy! Cordelia! I could use a bit of help up here!” His shouts echoed around the building and he prayed to God that she would be able to hear him from wherever she was. It seemed he was in luck as not a few moments later came the click of his sister's boots and the sounds of her daemon clambering up alongside her.

Cordelia Midford met her brother's blue gaze with mild confusion. Where on Earth was his daemon? Sigrid was never seen too far away from her little brother, the two were thick as thieves. Of course, her confusion lessened considerably once she noted the horse stuck in the doorway to Alexis' room and she practically doubled over in laughter as Gawain, her red setter daemon, padded over to stare up at the horse in shock. A small smile of his own gracing his muzzle.

The younger Midford sighed. This was entirely typical of Cordy, though he was thankful that at least it wasn't Ethel, who would laugh and then insist on amassing a crowd of people to witness her brother's embarrassment. Sigrid's head was bent in shame and Alexis could feel the waves of embarrassment coming off of her. He rushed to her side, petting her head comfortingly, letting out another sigh.

“Cordy! Be serious. This is hardly a laughing matter.”

But apparently his sister was of an entirely different opinion on the matter. The blonde girl was still in absolute hysterics over the situation because in her mind such a thing was so entirely typical of her sweet natured, earnest brother, small disasters tended to happen around him far more frequently than any other man she'd met. Through tear filled eyes she managed to get a good look at the two of them. Her brother was staring at her with such hurt reproach that she almost immediately sobered up again, slipping into the more serious role of the elder sister she clearly had to fulfil here. She adopted a slight frown.

“Oh Alex...You do manage to get yourself into the oddest situations...And when mother and father are absent too. Really brother dear...”

Gawain meanwhile had been trying to see if there was anyway to help the horse daemon out, going under her body and into the bedroom, but there was no help to be had from that end too. He could've only done something had he still had the ability to shift but as it was he'd been settled for going on five years now; he could barely even remember what shifting felt like. With a defeated sigh he went back to the other side and shook his head.

“I suppose I shall go and fetch the butler, he should know what to do about this. Although, you know,” Cordelia told him with another frown. “No one shall be able to come out and give you aid until tomorrow, it's Sunday after all, no builder will come out to work today. Especially not for something like widening a doorframe.”

Sigrid looked alarmed at the thought. Tomorrow? That wouldn't do at all! What would Alexis do? His bed was in his bedroom as well as his night things and as he couldn't stray too far from her he wouldn't be able to go down to the dining room to eat his meals or...or anything at all really, not without putting the two of them through considerable amounts of pain. She let out an apologetic sort of snort. They'd been so proud of the fact that they'd settled but now all she could feel was a lingering sense that this was all a ridiculous, rotten trick that the universe was trying to play on them. The daemon bowed her head in shame, pressing it further into Alexis' hands.

“Oh Sigrid...” He sighed as Cordelia left. “Don't feel bad about all of this dear, it's hardly your fault. You know as well as I that we only settle when we're ready.”

It was perhaps true but still, she rather felt that she could've settled either ten seconds earlier or later and this all would've turned out much better for both of them. Either they'd have been stuck in the bedroom, which was far better than having her boy stuck outside in a small patch of hallway, or they would've been free to roam around the house, even if she would've been excluded from the rooms. It would've meant Alexis would've been free.

“I'm being a dreadful bother...” She sighed eventually. “I'm terribly sorry Alexis dear, I didn't mean for this to happen.”

“Oh my dear old thing.” He leaned his forehead against hers, looking into those soft intelligent brown eyes as he stroked her nose. “You're not a bother, you're incredible. You hardly did this deliberately, did you old girl? We just decided to settle at an odd time, that's all. I'm certain it happens to a lot of people.” Well, he didn't know if that was true but surely people with larger daemons ran into that sort of problems frequently. “Besides, as long as I'm with you, being trapped here isn't so bad. It just pains me that I cannot see you in your entirety. I'm not getting a proper chance to see just how beautiful you are.” He stroked her neck lovingly. “I'll have to ask Cordy to fetch me that book on horse breeds, I really wish to know what breed you are because you're incredible.”

Sigrid flushed in so much that a daemon could, nudging him affectionately and feeling ever so slightly better about their situation. Besides, she supposed the servants could always make Alexis some sort of cot out here for the night. As long as he was alright with it all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sigrid: Fjord Horse   
Gawain: Red Setter


	2. Elizabeth

Elizabeth Midford was cold and tired and she knew that Ciel was angry and that it might have a bit to do with her being such a foolish silly child earlier on and she knew she ought to apologise properly for that but there simply didn’t seem to be any time for meaningful apologies right at that instant. The one thing that she was grateful for was the fact that her family was safe; Sebastian had said so and he never lied. They were all together and most likely faring far better than she and Ciel were at that particular moment even with the aid of the butler. Although the tall dark haired man was being of very little use to them at that particular moment; he was far too busy fighting a strange red haired person with a funny looking weapon that she’d never seen before. There was another person behind them both, this one blond but also with a strange weapon...or perhaps a tool would be a better descriptive for it. Either way Lizzie couldn’t say what it was or what sort of damage it could possibly do. In that at least the red haired thing was more comprehensible, though the Midford girl had never seen the weapon in her life it seemed to her that it functioned rather like a sword except it was more mechanised and probably quite a bit more dangerous too. Even Sebastian seemed afraid of it and she’d never seen him shaken by anything before now. Not even his own death and subsequent resurrection. Either way, she was rather glad to be behind the fighting rather than in it, it meant that Tarian was safe at least.

The daemon currently in dog form had been staying close to her heels all through the ship and seemed every bit as exhausted as she felt, not that she could blame him at all her poor daemon only had so much stamina, as well as very short legs as he simply couldn’t manage anything bigger right at that moment. He was just so tired and wanted to rest but there was no time for that as he had to follow behind her when Ciel pulled her away into the corridor trying to lead her away from the confrontation. Though that too ended in disaster as somehow the boy managed to trip over a fallen chair that had been left lying in the corridor, his snake daemon Cal falling from her usual perch around his neck and landing with a hiss of shock in the icy cold water before quickly retreating up Ciel’s sleeve. Not that Tarian could blame her; the poor reptile had been through an awful lot that night and she did so hate the cold. He very much wanted to go and cheer her up but there was no time for that either; the dead things were coming.

Groaning and grey skinned, the dead shuffled down the corridor towards them, their arms outstretched and hands looking as though they wanted to grab whoever was unfortunate to be in arm’s reach. At their sides their daemons flickered and juddered as though they were in a constant state of receiving electroshocks, occasionally vanishing from existence altogether before reappearing several paces from where they had been. For both the girl and the daemon it was a terrifying sight to behold. 

Fear however was outweighed by the awareness that Ciel and Cal were in danger and as Midfords they couldn’t simply stand by idly and let their loved ones be injured no matter the promises they’d made. They had two choices here, die and remain the cute Lizzie that the two had always been or fight and risk having Ciel hate them forever. The girl hesitated for just a moment, glancing down at her daemon who was staring resolutely back. Tarian knew what they had to do. Or at the very least he knew what he had to do, he would protect his Lizzie with every bit of strength he had in him. He had to. He loved her so very much. Lizzie on the other hand struggled to reach her decision. She’d tried so hard to hide this part of herself from her fiance, never wanting him to see that she was in fact the type of frightening woman that he loathed so much, leaving it all behind meant that she would truly be a different person from then on in Ciel’s eyes. However the boy was worth it, she would sacrifice cuteness a thousand times more if it meant she managed to save him. Even if he did end up despising her. The blonde girl nodded, regret filling her gaze before closing her hand around the hilt of her sword and plunging it into a dead man’s head, tears rolling down her cheeks.

Then as one daemon and human wheeled around to face the hoard. Tarian charged in, baying as loud and fiercely as any daemon would, louder even than Arwen, his sister. He was large and powerful, flying through the air towards the undead until he wasn’t. The creature that attacked the walking dead wasn’t a dog at all, nor a horse or even a snow goose. He had small sharp teeth and claws and a long lithe body almost like a snake’s which he used to his full advantage, weaving in and out of the dead, taking chunks of flesh from their ankles, causing them to stumble. 

For her own part Lizzie wielded the swords as though she’d been handling them her entire life, swiftly and efficiently disposing of the creatures, cutting through the flesh as though it were mere paper rather than anything more solid. The pair made an impressive sight. Daemon and human fighting in unison. 

As they fought Lizzie couldn’t help but recall all the times she’d hidden this from her beloved, her muffled conversations with her daemon about maybe letting the guise of cuteness fall just a little bit and allowing Ciel to see the real her, if not for her own sake then for the daemon who was suffering from having to remain in forms that no longer fit who they were. Gone were the kittens and puppies and all things cute. No longer was she sugar and spice and all things nice; those may be the things little girls were made of but it wasn’t what made her. She may’ve ruined everything with Ciel but a part of her was relieved, she felt as though she were exactly who and what she was supposed to be now. The protector of the Queen’s Watchdog, keeping the person she loved alive even as he stared at her with an expression she’d never seen on his face.

Tarian’s thoughts strayed to the others. He and Lizzie of course had known that their settling was coming but he wondered what she would think of his form, whatever it may be. And what of Ciel? And Cal? Oh...and Edward too! As well as mother and father. Would they be proud? Settling must be a good thing surely even if he had taken on such a small form in a family of rather large animals. It couldn’t be helped he supposed, this was just how he was; a tiny fighter.

With a final swipe of tiny claws and the flourish of a sword the last of the dead fell and daemon and girl came to a stop as Sebastian prevented them from attacking the red thing. And afterwards came a blur of having to run to the lifeboats and reuniting with the rest of the family and throughout it all, much to Tarian’s disgust, Elizabeth noticed not a thing about her daemon having settled. His fur ruffled indignantly as he was brought onto the lifeboat. That was very rude of her, surely she must know that he’d finally taken on his true form! It was a lovely one too though he didn’t know for certain what he may be. He was able to cuddle up close to her and comfort her still and...well, long daemons like him could drape themselves around necks easily enough; like Lycoris had with aunt An. Only Tarian was certain he’d be far less dead looking when he would do it. With nothing much else to do and an unconscious Lizzie he curled up on her lap, giving her every ounce of warmth his body could bestow as he drifted off to sleep, mind full only of the thought of taking care of his Lizzie and a small amount of pride at having finally settled into what he was to be for the rest of their lives.

*******

They were out of the water, everyone safe, even Ciel who’d been whisked away in order to be checked over for hypothermia and the likes, as everyone had been when they’d first been brought aboard this new ship. It wasn’t nearly as big as the Campania had been but Lizzie found that she didn’t really mind at all; at least this one wasn’t teeming with the undead. Which made this the very best ship in the world in her opinion even if she was sharing her quarters with mother (she couldn’t very well share with Edward after all, she was a young lady...and besides that mother had quickly put her foot down when her brother had suggested it). All in all she was very happy, even as mother escorted her back to their cabin telling her to get some rest, pressing the briefest kiss to her forehead before leaving again.

The girl flopped down onto the bed with an elated sigh.

“He doesn’t hate me Tari! He’s alive and he doesn’t hate me!” She whispered in delight.

“I told you he wouldn’t!” The daemon responded as he jumped up onto the bed and nestled in the crook of her neck, giving her the softest of licks, causing the girl to giggle softly. “He’s here and he doesn’t hate you at all and so everything’s alright now!”

“You did tell me that...and mother too” She flushed slightly realising that perhaps taking the words of a seven year old boy to heart was a bit silly, particularly as he seemed to like her a little bit more now. “And I know father and Eddie would’ve said the same too.” She leaned over slightly, pressing a kiss on top of her daemon’s furry head before pausing with a thoughtful, yet fretful frown on her face. “Do you suppose all of his cases are like this one?”

The furry daemon frowned too. “I...don’t know...I don’t think they can be after all Sebastian’s never been injured on one before or at least not that we’ve seen. I don’t think I’ve ever even seen him bleed before. Although he did die that one time I suppose but he also came back to life again so I don’t think that quite counts.”

“I suppose not...but I don’t really know how that happened either.” Lizzie conceded with another frown. “I hope they aren’t though. I don’t want Ciel to be so unhappy and hurt all the time, it makes me want to cry even thinking about it. And I shouldn’t like for that sort of thing to be happening when we’re married to him, although if it did I’d protect him of course...but still…”

“Well, we’ll be older then.” The daemon pointed out with as much of a shrug as he could manage. “Perhaps a person gets used to such things when they grow older and-” He stopped, jumping up onto her chest as though burnt, practically vibrating with the excitement of something he’d not spoken of yet. “LIZZIE! You’ll never guess what happened! I have some wonderful news!”

Lizzie started, sitting up and making her daemon slide down into her lap as she gazed at him curiously, Tarian was known for being excitable, of course he was, he was her but he’d never done anything quite as sudden as this before. Especially not when she was so cold and tired.

“Yes?”

“You’ll never guess, not in a million years!” He continued in the same excitable manner, practically shouting his words. “Which is very silly of you really because Arwen noticed it right away while we were in the lifeboats but then I suppose she is my big sister she’s very smart and observant like that.” He rambled, losing track of where he was going slightly before reining himself in again. “Oh Lizzie, we’ve done it! We finally settled!”

“We settled?” She shrieked suddenly every bit as overjoyed and awake as he was, her hands flying to her mouth to smother a squeal of joy. “Truly? Oh Wow!” Lizzie had always had her reservations about growing up, it had always seemed quite frightening really but regardless settling was a monumental occasion for anyone. “When? How...I mean how did I not notice? I feel like I ought to have noticed something!” Surely there was some sort of sensation that came with a daemon’s settling but she felt no different to how she had before, well except for the fact that she was rather more tired now.

“It was on the ship.” He explained. “When we were fighting those...whatever they were. I was charging at them as a dog and then suddenly I shrank down into this, quite without meaning to and well...it just fit and I can’t change anymore so...well I suppose we must’ve just settled. You were quite busy at the time so you couldn’t possibly have noticed and after that Sebastian did something to you and then we were being rushed everywhere so it’s no wonder that you didn’t.”

Lizzie still looked a bit put out that she’d missed her own settling entirely though the feeling was being washed away by a sense of accomplishment. They’d done it. “So...what you’re saying is that we grew up when we put away the childish cuteness and showed Ciel who we really are?” There was a faint exasperation to her elated voice. Of course the very thing they’d been trying so hard to do was the very thing holding them back this entire time. It made a horrible sort of sense. 

“It looks that way.” He bounced slightly. “What do you suppose I am by the way Liz? Only I haven’t really gotten a proper look at myself. I’m not any sort of kitten thing am I?” 

She stared at him for a good long while taking in the brown and tan furred creature on her lap with his soft fur and pretty brown eyes; he was both cute and not cutesy. Just right for the more adult version of herself that she was now. “Hmm...I think...maybe some sort of ferret? Yes! That’s it, you’re some sort of ferret but you’re far cuter than any one I’ve seen before. Oh I’m so glad you didn’t settle as something silly…” Some of her friends had rather silly looking daemons, not that she was being judgemental, they were very good friends after all but their daemons were so small and jittering. They looked almost weak.

“A ferret?” He looked around at his long lithe body. “Yes! I think you’re right....but if I’m cute it’s only because you are.” Tarian replied with a grin.

“Tari!” She giggled, stroking his fur. It was so soft! “Oooh. do you suppose we should tell mother and father about it? They seem dreadfully busy at the moment…” Her parents were doing their best to try and oversee everything that was going on at the moment and help out where they could, it was very admirable but mother did seem terribly on edge about it all. 

“Perhaps not…” Tarian sighed, though he was proud of having settled he didn’t want to cause any additional worry to anyone especially seeing as most settlings included a-

“Do you suppose they’ll throw us a party?” Lizzie asked thoughtfully. “I mean I’m sure they will once we get home, so perhaps we oughtn’t tell them until we reach the shore. That way we won’t annoy anyone with party planning on top of it all. Though it will be very hard to hide it from mother for that long.”

“I don’t think we will be able to at all really but we can try!” He smiled at her. “Oh! We can invite Ciel and Cal and show them that we’re grown up too!” This was all going to be so perfect! He was so glad he’d settled.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tarian - Sable Mitt Ferret  
Arwen - Beauceron


	3. Ciel

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Takes place after r!Ciel's death, so canon typical blood and violence in this chapter.

Astre stared through the bars of the cage, unable to quite believe what he was seeing. Ciel was up on the alter, lying far too still and surrounded as he was by the strange men who’d been holding him down he couldn’t see Cal anywhere anymore; surely if she were there she’d be fighting as hard as he’d ever seen her or perhaps even more so, this new form she’d ended up with had very sharp little teeth. He couldn’t understand why his brother’s daemon wasn’t putting up more of a fight, he couldn’t possibly be dead after all so she had to be there somewhere. She just had to be. Even as the crowds parted slightly and a chill entered the room, he still remained convinced of it, not even the slowly dripping blood on his brother’s body could stop him from holding onto the belief. Not until there was only a single figure left by Ciel and still no sign of Cal. 

It was then that the rage filled him, this wasn’t fair. Ciel hadn’t done anything to anyone. Not ever. His anger was only equalled by a sudden wave of terror flooding through him as a hush fell over the room and the very lights seemed to flicker and dim casting longer more eerie shadows around. These shadows seemed to almost be alive and writhing as the lights continued to dance until it became clear that mere shadows these were not, instead they were dark tendrils of something unseen, strange and oily and smokey all at the same time and dripping a malice that the ten year old boy couldn’t even begin to comprehend. 

At his side his daemon, Trix, was shifting wildly, far wilder than he’d ever known her to before. Not even when she’d show off her shifting abilities to mother and father, changing at his every request delighting in her own abilities. Here it was frantic, almost frightening as she seemed to be searching for something that even she herself didn’t know. Whether this was her own fear or her feeding off his own fearful rage, the child didn’t know. Whichever it was she seemed entirely unable to stop herself; first a cat, then a rabbit, then something far too tall for the small cage they inhabited, too small, an ant, a bird… The more she shifted the more Astre felt panic settle into his own soul, whether his own or hers he couldn’t tell.

The unseen, unknown creature began to speak to him; a demon it said it was and Astre couldn’t even bring himself to be much surprised by the turn of events. It was quite obvious that such things should be real, particularly as God himself didn’t much care about what was happening to two little boys despite his claims to love everyone. So it only made sense to him that demons and devils should arrive to further his own misery. He moved closer to the bars of his cell, staring in the eyes (or what he assumed were the eyes) of the beast, clutching at his prison with one hand and stretching the other arm out as far as it could possibly go. It was offering him power and a way of getting out. Only to him too, none of the adults were even getting a look in and all the boy could think of in that moment was his own anger. It was still twisting into varying different shapes. Part of him wondered if a demon was quite like a daemon, what with the amount of shifting it was doing.

There was a part of him that didn’t want to make the contract with the devil, a voice in the back of his mind that sounded like Trix reminding him that he shouldn’t do such things. He was frightened, she was frightened too he knew that but at the same time there was something so fundamentally changed about him. She had to know that. She was angry too, she could feel the burning rage inside, he knew that too. She was him, his very soul, therefore she must know.

To anyone else it may’ve seemed as though he was making a very spur of the moment decision but the child knew what all of this meant, what he would be giving up should he take the thing’s hand. The moment he opened his mouth and took the offer his life as he knew it would be over, it would destroy him down to his soul and it was absolutely worth it. Worth it to be free of here and to be able to live the life his brother no longer could as well as get revenge on those who had wronged him and hurt his family. He was making this contract for himself and for no one else.

“Demon! I will form a contract with you!” He shouted, ignoring the small voices in his head, the ones reminding him that he was just a weak and useless spare, that he could never even hope to be anything like his brother. If his brother wasn’t here then he would just have to become the person Ciel wanted to be. That meant being brave and sacrificing things. His own soul was a good enough forfeit, wasn’t it?

The creature grasped his hand for a moment before a black...something...shot out and covered his eye, feeling almost as though it were burning him. It was a familiar sort of burning,that of being branded, in a way the demon was marking him as his own now. The realisation slowly started settling in at the back of his mind but for the most time all he could think was.

“KILL THEM!” He roared. “KILL THEM ALL.”

The demon turned and Ciel was left alone, watching the men being destroyed by the very thing they had summoned, feeling nothing at all except an almost sick satisfaction; so far gone was he that he’d not even noticed what Trix was going through at that very moment.

The daemon writhed as though her entire body had been dipped in acid, her very skin itched and she longed for the claws to simply rip it off but failing that she turned into a bird, trying to flee from this pain that had been wrought upon her. But then her human had said those fateful words and the demon had responded in kind and suddenly Trix felt her wings be clipped. Soft feathers falling away to nothing at all. Moulting before her very eyes until the wings she sported were made of nothing but bones. She let out a horrified shriek before these too crumbled away into nothing; the bird fell, closing her eyes for a painful impact even as her insides twisted like a nest full of snakes. Anger surged through her, anger and pain and the sting of betrayal. Her body elongated almost painfully, stretching far longer than she’d ever gone before, sharp fangs sprouted in her mouth in the place of a beak. The creature that hit the floor was no bird at all. She’d had that freedom stolen from her now.

Around the two was a maelstrom of blood and death, the cage having long since been opened now, although the boy dared not step out from its confines. Trix however had no such qualms, seeking to get as far from the red eyed beast as she could, it wasn’t too far, she couldn’t bear to be parted from Astre who was coming to the slow realisation as to what selling his soul to the demon truly meant. A soul. It wasn’t some life providing thing that could be discarded easily but a living breathing, feeling thing...his soul...where was his soul?

“Trix?” He called out in a small voice as he scanned the dark room for her. She couldn’t have gone too far after all. A flash of fear ran through him suddenly, followed by a small burst of heat and he looked towards the nearest flame. There, light glinting of the grey polished scales was a snake and he knew it must be her, reared back and frightened as she was. Though he had to wonder why the form that she’d taken was that of a snake. She’d settled of course, he could feel that somehow, but the question remained. He’d not seen her as a snake before and he had to wonder just what such a form meant. 

With a few quick steps from the sanctity of his cage he reached her, scooping her up into his arms even as she hissed in alarm, looking as though she were about to lash out and bite him for even daring touch her until she seemed to realise just who it was; her tongue flicking out as she sensed the air around her. He needed her near him now. He was going to need every bit of his courage and cunning to confront the demon who was now coming back, red eyes aflame, sizing him up as though he were nothing more than a piece of meat. Trix coiled tightly around his arm, looking as though she were shrinking back from the demon, Astre had a sudden urge to put her behind him, to protect her from the beast he’d sold her very existence to.

Trix however didn’t seem to need his protection as she fiercely lashed out at the demon, striking him in a tendril though it didn’t faze him in the least, nor did the snake daemon’s next attack. In fact he ignored them entirely as though they’d not happened and continued to talk to the young boy instead, asking him what his name was and for a moment Astre paused. He couldn’t be himself anymore, that much was obvious but it would hurt Trix for him to be anyone else...although at the point he was, a little bit more hurt to her wouldn’t kill her.

“Ciel Phantomhive. My name is Ciel Phantomhive, heir to the Phantomhive Earldom.” Ciel was the one who deserved to come back from this, Astre thought, therefore Ciel would, even if it was just a pretense. He was certain no one would mind anyway. They would all expect his brother to be the one to return anyway, or at the very least appreciate it more should he do so.

“But Astre…” Trix protested. “Astre you aren’t Ciel…”

***  
The demon was burning the house down, eradicating the last remnants of what had happened to him and his brother and the newly dubbed Ciel Phantomhive stood in silence and watched with an almost dead look in his gaze. Trix however was unrepentant in her protesting. 

“I’m nothing like Cal, you know that Astre...I can’t even pretend to be. She’s all...and I’m just me, small and shy and kind.” She told him from her new perch around his neck.

Her reluctance was founded but at the same time they truly had no choice in the matter, they were Ciel and Cal now. There was no other way. It was just how it was meant to be and his daemon would have to get used to it. “And I’m nothing like Ciel but we’re the ones that survived Trix, we have to be them because they were the ones who deserved to live and have a future.” His heart clenched a little at the statement. “I can’t give them that, not really, but we’re going to give them as much of a life as we can. We owe it to them.”

“But they’ll know...I know they will...Cal wouldn’t have settled as a snake.”

“And Ciel would never have sold her to a daemon…” He admitted with a small frown, looking almost ashamed of himself for his own actions as he lifted her gently to eye level, gazing at her. “I don’t expect you to forgive me for it you know. But we need him, so that we can get our revenge and the title and power and all of those things that Ciel deserves and then we can hurt those who hurt us.” Anger raged within him still. “So now we have a butler who knows nothing about the actual duties of a butler, and me. An Earl who was never meant to be, and you his snake daemon…”

She rolled her eyes at him and gave him the sort of look that said that had she arms she most likely would’ve hit him for that particular remark. “I can’t not forgive you...you are me...or I am you… either way I know why you did it. So of course you’re forgiven.” Her tongue flickered.

If he’d still been able to do so, he might’ve smiled at her. It warmed him to know that regardless of how far he fell he wasn’t entirely alone. He had Trix for whatever time remained for the two of them and that was a great comfort even if he would absolutely understand her hating him for the rest of their lives. It would be what he might’ve done if their positions were reversed; Trix truly was his better half, better than he could hope to be at any rate. He wasn’t certain that he even forgave himself for this really but he would have to trust that her words were genuine.

“You’re beautiful though my Calytrix...unexpected but glorious.” Far better than Calypso if he was honest.

“It is a bit unexpected.” The daemon conceded. “I’ve never been a snake before now and now I’m stuck as one...but it feels right. Odd. But still right.” Her tongue flickered out again as it brushed over his skin lightly. “I always thought we’d be a rabbit...I was always fond of that form. It’s much harder to seem like I’m kind as a snake.”

“That may just be the point.” ‘Ciel’ replied thoughtfully. “We can’t be kind anymore, we’ve got to be harsh and ruthless, like father was when he was on a case. We need to be Earl and Watchdog and learn to bear those titles and crush anyone who might get in our way.” Even if he didn’t feel particularly strong at that moment but rather a malnourished and injured ten year old who was hurting over having just sold his soul to a demon.

Trix looked as though she wanted to press matters, remind him that daemons couldn’t act and that no matter how angry he felt that wouldn’t change who he was inside; that part of him would always be the kind and considerate boy who’d wanted to open a sweetshop and had a penchant for chocolate cake. But her arguments dried up. Both of them knew that they couldn’t be that way anymore even if they wanted to. And a snake was a good choice for it as well, no one would expect her to be loud and boisterous. They would just assume her silence came with the form and not question it further, or so he hoped. He knew she was still angry with him, at least a little bit but at least she wasn’t outright rejecting him and that was something, he thought as he clambered into the carriage that Sebastian had brought seemingly from nowhere at all.

The boy sat on the plush seat, head resting against the back of it, staring at nothing and almost half hoping this entire thing would end up being a horrific dream that would come to an end somehow. 

Boy and daemon sat in silence for a while, both grieving over their respective siblings, quietly contemplating their own feelings but unwilling to open up to one another about them for fear of hurting the other. Until finally ‘Ciel’ spoke again.

“I know it...it feels wrong for you to pretend so. But...well you don’t truly have to pretend. You just have to answer to Cal now as well as Trix. You’ll always be Trix to me. But to the world you have to be Cal. I’ll look after you...just as you’ve always looked after me. I’m...I’m sorry Trix, I mean...Cal… I’m so sorry…” He was too, although entirely for her. He’d never wanted to hurt his daemon so.

“It’s alright.” She murmured softly, nudging him with her head, letting out a small laugh as the boy let out a yawn. “Sleep Ast-Ciel. I’ll keep you safe. It’s going to be okay…” 

He could tell she was lying just a little bit but the lie was a comfort to him.

“I love you…” He murmured back with another yawn, sliding down his seat until he found himself lying on it, allowing his tired eyes to close, feeling the steady rocking of the carriage as they made their way to London. Once there they would find Aunt An, find their home and then they’d begin on their revenge. It’d be hard, he knew but they would do it together. For Cal and Ciel. They would honour their memory.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Calytrix - Grey Eyelash Pit Viper


	4. Bard

“Bard! Bard, up this way!” Scout cried out from her vantage point, flittering above the blond boy’s head in the form of an exceedingly scruffy looking bird who looked so battered one could scarcely tell what species of bird she actually was, not that Bard would’ve been able to say anyway had someone asked him. To him she was just Scout, he didn’t know a whole lot about animal breeds and species. She was gesturing towards an empty alleyway, only occupied by a drunken man who’d long since been rendered insensible by his penchant for drinking. Perhaps this would be the perfect place to hide until the men went away? It certainly seemed safe enough to him. He nodded.

“I’m comin’, I’m comin’ get moving Scoutie.” He shouted at her, chasing after the bird daemon as fast as his legs could carry him, small feet pounding over the stones as he went; past the drunken man, past a few empty doorways until finally he came upon a pile of barrels. Scout dove into one and Bard followed suite, leaping behind them, heart pounding like a drum. Please let the men be too old and stupid to find them there. He didn’t want to be caught and taken away from his family. He looked up nervously, fearing that he would see the men gazing down at him but there was nothing, only Scout perched on the edge of one of the barrels. Bard’s heart sank slightly as he hissed. “Scout, get down from there...it’s dangerous, they’re gonna see you…”

She seemed to agree with this sentiment as she quickly changed from bird to alleycat, snuggling into her human’s arms, her skinny form trembling fit to burst. She was just as shaken up about all of this as her boy was.

“Where are the others?” She whispered almost frantically. “Ernie said he was gonna be right behind us, did they get caught?” Her eyes were wide as she asked this, as though getting caught were the worst possible thing that could happen, which, to the boy and his daemon, it really was. Neither could imagine anything worse. 

“I...dunno…” Bard mumbled back, a sick feeling in his stomach. “I hope not...I mean, Ernie’s smart, he wouldn’t let anythin’ happen to the little ones…” But he wasn’t so certain, especially as he heard distant rumbling shouts at the other end of the alleyway they were hiding in. Angry sounding shouts they were and Bard only had to pray that the others had already escaped this, they were the only family he had after all.

“Why are they so angry anyhow? It was just a bit of cheese…” The cat daemon huffed, tail flicking in annoyance.

The boy shrugged, in his experience that was just how grown ups were, angry, especially over the little things. He had just as much of a right to eat as they did and they’d had a lot of food just sitting there, why shouldn’t he have taken it? At the very least the grown ups should’ve shared with them, it was the polite thing to do after all. It was what he and the rest of the kids did all the time, it wasn’t exactly hard. 

After a moment of sitting and listening in fear to the voices Scout leapt down from his arms to peer out; they were still there alright, just standing around clearly trying to decide what it was they were going to do now. Then she stiffened, eyes widening in alarm as Bard looked down at her questioningly. Without giving an answer she shifted into a hawk and stared more intently, letting out the smallest of distressed noises.

“Georgie’s hiding over there, he’s going to get got!” Georgie was the youngest one of their group, both in age and in time spent with them, he’d only been with them for a couple of months now. Not only that, he was the youngest and least experienced and on top of that now he looked absolutely terrified. 

“That little idiot!” Bard exclaimed as he stuck his head round to see that indeed little Georgie was hiding behind a cart across the street, with Fetch, his daemon changing from form to form as though she was trying to find the best way to be able to help her human. “Whadda we do Scout?” Bard asked in a panic, looking to his daemon for guidance. Obviously he couldn’t leave the younger boy there, the kid was nearly crying from how scared he looked but at the same time, Bard didn’t really want the adults to get him either, who knew what would happen in that case? “We’ve gotta help him right?”

“But if we just run out there we’ll get caught.” She squeaked, looking afraid herself. “We can’t outrun them forever, they’ve got longer legs than us and all, an’ you ain’t got any shoes on either. An’ I can’t fight off four daemons. Not at the same time, they’re all way bigger ‘an I am Bard.” She looked back over at Georgie and Fetch, then back to her human. “So I guess we got two choices here...we can either save them, or save ourselves…” Although the latter would be a horrifically cowardly thing to do and neither of them would be able to forgive themselves for even thinking such a thing. Family came first before anything else and that little boy down there was family, like it or not. And Georgie was only a kid, not nearly as grown up as Bard was. Ernie may’ve been the oldest of their little group but Bard had been there the longest. He’d been on the streets since he was about two, according to some of the older boys who’d long since left. So really, there was no choice, not in Bard’s mind. So now all he had to do was bring up the courage to actually do it. He was only a kid himself after all and these grown ups were scarier than most things he’d faced in his short life. But every time he would nearly talk himself out of it, Georgie’s frightened face would appear in Bard’s mind again, hardening his resolve, making him braver than he actually felt. Keeping that picture in his mind, the blond boy stood and stared at his daemon before nodding. 

“Alright so...we’re doin’ this. I love you Scoutie!”

“Love you too Bard.” She trilled back, bursting out of her hiding place with a flash of golden brown feathers. 

Bard took this as his cue and began sprinting down towards the men, yelling at the top of his lungs and waving his arms, trying to be as much of a distraction as he possibly could, keeping everyone’s eyes on him. Behind him the rustle of feathers faded and he heard a thump as a large mass of fur, teeth and claws landed beside him. Huge, hulking and a golden greyish colour was Scout, now a wolf, the wolf of his heart. It felt right having her be this way. A bit too right. Had she? A delighted smile crossed his face and a rush of courage, that felt strangely like a roaring inferno ran through him as boy and wolf rushed out towards the group, barrelling into one of them with as much force as he could as his daemon tried to fight theirs, with very little success. She had been right saying that she wouldn’t be able to fight them off. Even in this new form she was too thin and scrawny to do very much damage to them. One of the other daemons, a badger maybe, had her pinned now, its jaws around her neck and Bard panicked, wheeling round to try and get to her before he immediately got grabbed himself. A large hand closed around the collar of his tattered shirt, hoisting the eleven year old off of the ground even as he kicked and fought and yelled.

“Lemme go…” He yelped, reaching up to try and pry the hands off, watching out of the corner of his eye as Georgie, seemingly picking up on what Bard was doing, ran off towards the welcoming safety of the others, being welcomed back into their midst with hugs and a brief check over from Ernie. Bard very nearly stopped his ruckus there and then, he’d done what he set out to do after all. He caught Ernie’s gaze and shook his head at the older boy who looked as though he was preparing to rush in himself and rescue Bard from their clutches. There was no point in that sort of thing though; both of them couldn’t be captured, Bard thought, as the oldest Ernie had to be the one to look out for the kids now. Besides, if he were being honest, he was kinda proud of what he’d done. He’d saved someone, even if he was going to be punished for that now. Wasn’t too certain what it’d be though…

One of the men gazed down at him and let out a sigh.

“Another street rat, Danny?” He asked the tallest man, the one who was giving Bard the most ferocious stare out of the bunch. ‘Danny’ it seemed didn’t care who or what Bard might be, as his own response to the question was to grumble about him being a dirty thief and say that he should be thrown in the river which Bard thought was a bit of an extreme reaction and it seemed that the other man though so too as he defended. “He’s just a kid...probably hungry…”

“Look...I ain’t a charity mate...I can’t just feed every bleeding heart and starving waif that shows up on my doorstep, I’ve got my own family to think about and feed…” Danny protested still giving Bard a glare that could’ve frozen whatever river they wanted to throw him in. 

There was a lot of arguing after that, lots of going back and forth about the fact that Bard was only a kid who was hungry and all that. More than half of it went over the starving waif in question’s head. He couldn’t understand what they were on about, let alone get a word in to defend himself, that was until they started talking about giving him to some woman named Mrs Otherford who would apparently teach him how to be a proper man. The fighting resumed as Bard struggled again.

“I said lemme go...I don’t wanna go see no Mrs Otherford or whatever her name is…” He wriggled again helplessly. “I don’t need no grown ups t’take care of me, I can take care of meself just fine…” He didn’t need to be taught how to be a man. He already was one! The very fact that Scout had settled was proof enough of that fact. She’d settled and that only happened if you were grown up, Jack had told him that once just after Lucky had settled into a pretty looking cat and just before he’d gone away and they’d never seen him again. Settling meant you were an adult. “I’m already a man...an’ I have me own family t’look out for. So you’ve gotta let me go…”

“Come off it kid.” The shorter, kinder man said to him getting down on Bard’s level and looking at him in the eyes as one of the daemons pinning Scout down got off her and allowed her to sit up again. “How long you been out here? Got any parents? No? Thought not. Come on, we’ll take you to the orphanage, they’ll have food there for you, more than you could get out here and you’ll get schooling too. You could get a job and earn money, have a nice bed, don’t that sound good to you kid?”

Part of Bard had to admit that it did but stubbornly he shook his head and focussed instead on answering the one question that he knew he could somewhat answer. “I’m ‘leven, an’ I’ve been out here since I were two...dunno if that’s true or not, Jack said it were two but I dunno if I believe him or not… An’ like I said I’m a man now, I don’t need any lookin’ after.” He protested. Eleven was fairly old in his own mind any way, a lot of kids didn’t make it til they were eleven. “I ain’t got not parents though, don’t want a job neither even if I get money... I need t’be with my family. They need me, so you’ve got to let me go.” By this point the man holding him had clearly decided he wasn’t a threat and had let him go, dropping him to the ground where he scampered off to bury his face in the fur of Scout’s neck, hugging her close to him. 

The daemon in turn closed her eyes, leaning her head against his, offering him whatever protection she could from these people who’d been so desperate to hurt him earlier, though apparently they were reconsidering now. They’d started talking amongst themselves again now and two of them left without a word, leaving only Bard, Scout, the kind man and Danny, along with their daemons. She glared at them. Why didn’t they leave too?

“What’s your name kid?” The kind one asked, crouching down again, a dog daemon coming to lean against his arm. “I’m Chuck, and I’m sure y’know by now that that’s Danny.”

“Bard...er...Bardroy…” Bard replied nervously, uncertainty filling every fiber of his being as he clung to his daemon even tighter, though with the bravery of a wolf he kept his head high and stared the man down.

“Alright then, Bardroy...look I know you think you can do this alone an’ take care of yourself kid, your daemon’s settled and you’ve come a long way since you first got stuck on the streets I’m sure but there’s no future for you out here. You’re a growing boy, you need a proper place to stay, somewhere you can call home.” 

Bard hesitated, frowning in incomprehension. What was going on?

Chuck held a hand out to him. “C’mon now kid, it’s the orphanage or the jailhouse for you now, you’re not going back to the streets…”

“Why not? I ain’t hurtin’ no one…”

This was clearly the wrong thing to say as Danny rolled his eyes in annoyance, as though silently asking himself what sort of moron he was dealing with here, whereas Chuck glared at him, though not unkindly. “You’re stealing food, which means that people aren’t getting money, so some of them’ll go hungry too kid. I know you’re hungry and you need food but if you come to the orphanage you’ll get some without having to take it away from others.”

“But they have lotsa food...an’ I ain’t got any…” He mumbled in response, eyeing the proffered hand as though it were a snake about to bite him rather than a fairly innocuous gesture. “An’ Jack told me ‘bout Orphanages, he said that once you went inside they stole your daemon from you an’ you never got t’see them again...an’ then you die. I don’t wanna not have Scout. I need her…”

“I know it seems that way t’you kid, but it’s their food. They sell it to get money so that they can pay for a house and clothes and such. If you’re stealing from them then they can’t pay for any of that and they might end up in the streets too...and as for the stuff about the orphanage. I think this Jack filled your head with stories kiddo, no one’ll take your daemon away, I should know I was born in one and they never took my Cherry from me.” Chuck informed him, gesturing to the dog daemon at his side. “Come on kid, you’ve got a whole future here, just take it…”

Bard mulled the words over in his head. He didn’t like the thought of forcing other people out into the streets, especially not little kids, they needed nice places to stay. Regretfully, he pulled the lump of cheese out of his pocket and held it out to Danny who simply sighed and waved him off. Well...if he didn’t want the cheese back how was Bard supposed to save his kids? 

But then Danny left too, whistling to the badger daemon and leaving Bard and Chuck alone. So...was he supposed to keep the cheese or not?

“You’re a good kid Bard, you’ve got spirit in spades and I think you’re gonna do well. No one’s going to hurt you. The lady who runs the orphanage is nice...it’ll be crowded and noisy but there’ll be food there, and soft beds. If you apply yourself at your schooling you can have a proper life kid, I did… And then you can spend your time helping others...like you were doing today.”

Bard stared at him. How had he known? But Chuck just gave him a small wink. “I...I wanna do that. I wanna be good and help people...protect ‘em…” He decided as he finally reached out to take Chuck’s hand, still keeping the other firmly embedded in Scout’s fur, just in case someone tried to steal her away from him although he didn’t believe Scout would let anyone take her. 

Scout stood, keeping pace with Bard as they walked, feeling strangely sure of herself. This was who they were now. Strong and loyal and powerful, a person who wanted to do the right thing no matter what. It felt good. Especially seeing as she’d be with him every step of the way.

“Hey Bard?” 

“Yeah?”

“I’m a wolf!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Scout - European Grey Wolf


End file.
